Do You Buy In Bulk? Weigh Out The Benefits & Pitfalls First

Do you buy in bulk? Bulk shopping and membership clubs are all the rage and often the go-to grocery shopping source for many families. Yes, there are some benefits to bulk shopping, especially if you have an institutional size kitchen or a family like the Duggar’s. If you don’t, you may want to consider weighing the benefits against the drawbacks. Here’s my perspective from an organizing point of view:

Benefits of Bulk Shopping

You’ll always have plenty on hand, you don’t run out as often when you buy jumbo sizes.

Less trips to the store (at lease for some items).

If you know your prices, you can save money on some items (but be careful, sometimes the savings are not what you would expect).

Pitfalls

Jumbo size items require much more storage space. If you have an expansive kitchen with a walk in pantry, it may not be a problem, but as your organizers, we see the repercussions of bulk buying and over-purchasing in your cabinets, they’re overstuffed and many things become inaccessible and forgotten about.

Over use at home. When you have excess, you tend to waste more and over eat, or not even get to it before it expires.

Warehouse stores encourage spontaneous purchasing. You probably didn’t set out to buy pants, socks, underwear and books, so much for sticking to that list.

Spending too much. Has your grocery budget really saved anything since your membership began? Do you stick to your list, or do all those taste tester items end up in your cart too?

Many items are double packaged. Do you really need two? Where are you going to store the extra, or worse yet, are they both being used and taking up prime cabinet space?

Forgetting that you bought that 5lb tub of peanut butter last time–ugh.

An extra trip. You usually have to stop at your local grocer to pick up those odds and ends the big store doesn’t carry.

It may not be good for your diet. Did you happen to grab a hot dog and jumbo drink on your way out?

As you can see, I have found many more pitfalls than benefits of bulk/membership club shopping. Maybe you can change my mind. Weigh in on what keeps you going back, maybe my opinion is skewed because I’ve seen so many cluttered kitchens and storage areas. I would love to hear your feedback!

Monica Friel is president and founder of Chaos to Order. Monica manages and trains a staff of professional organizers who specialize in everything from household clutter to corporate chaos. She also represents brands and speaks publicly as an expert in the field of organizing.
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